Comfort
by Tapio-Once
Summary: Kohaku is free, yet haunted by memories. Until he recieves an unexpected shoulder to cry on.


:Ok so this is my first story ever It's based off of events that occur in 'Batsu' by Silver-blue Sakura, you can read the story here.. http/adultfan. Anyway... the background is that Kagura and Kohaku show up to take out Kouga and his tribe, and things don't go as planned. Sesshomaru is there and, long story short, Kohaku dies, and is revived by the Tenseiga. Anyway...yeah I don't own Inuyasha, some decayed old lady in Japan does :) Read and Review PLEEEEEEEEESE!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comfort

Kohaku walked out into the forest, away from the looks and murmurings of the wolf-tribe. It had been a few days since the battle with the wolves and Sesshomaru, which had resulted in his being freed from Naraku's hold. And although Sango had tried on numerous occasions to comfort him, he shied away from any type of communication. His head had been swirling with the memories that had come rushing back to him. How Naraku had invaded his body, used him to kill off his family and almost murder Sango. He still wasn't able to look her in the eyes. Each time he tried the pain became too much and he cringed away. He found that the peace of the small pool, just over the hill from the series of caves that formed Kouga's tribe's home, was perfect for meditation…though most of the time he ended up just submitting to the turmoil in his mind. This was one of those times. He sat on the large rock which was placed, conveniently enough, almost in the very center of the water. The pool was fairly shallow, and surprisingly clear, with colorful pebbles gleaming in the soft light of the early sun, like a natural mosaic of stone. A tiny stream tumbled down at the far end, a tributary of a tributary from the river which lay about a mile off. Dragonflies skillfully dodged around the glistening spider webs, spun between the reeds that marked where the stream entered the pool. And a small amount of frogs and turtles rested around the outskirts. Kohaku chuckled as a fly landed on the head of one of the frogs, and was instantly caught in the sticky tongue. But the brief amusement was cut short as, almost automatically, guilt washed over him. Yet he was spared from another bought of despair when he heard a twig snap behind him, and spun around to see a young wolf-demon, not much older than himself, wandering towards the area.

"Hello, Kohaku right?"

Kohaku didn't immediately answer, his first thought being that the youkai was going to attack him, seeing as they were very much alone. "Yes, what's it to you?"

Ginta was a bit taken aback at the brash tone he received; after all, nothing in his actions should have indicated any type of threat. Never the less, he paused mid-stride and gave a slight bow of his head. "Sango-chan asked me to keep an eye on you. Never know what's lurking out here ya know?" He smiled as he said the last bit, hoping to ease Kohaku's obvious fear. He knew he must appear somewhat intimidating, being a decent amount larger than the boy, a demon, and an unfamiliar one on top of that.

"...oh" Was all he could muster in response, as the all too familiar pain surfaced at the mention of his older sister's name. Once he had managed to push it down, he registered what else the young wolf had said. "I can take care of myself." He shot back, turning back to gaze into the water.

"Well that may be, but I wouldn't forgive myself if something did happen." Ginta strode over to the banks of the pool, sitting against an old dead tree that sprouted at the water's edge. In truth Sango knew nothing of him being there. But ever since Kohaku had showed up, even when he had been fighting along side Kagura, Ginta had been unusually drawn to the freckly-faced teen. After he had heard of the boy's tumultuous past, he'd decided to have some part in helping him come to terms with it. "You know we should be celebrating," He said, sticking a few ants on the end of a twig on the ground in front of him, "you most of all. Kagura is dead, and you're no longer under Naraku's control." Looking up at Kohaku, he regretted saying it almost immediately as the boy was quite visibly close to tears.

"What cause do I have to celebrate? At least when I was under Naraku's control I didn't have to deal with the memories of what I'd done."

Ginta leapt into the air and gracefully landed beside the tortured boy. "That wasn't you. It was Naraku." He swallowed hard as he restrained himself from putting an arm around him, as gradually, single tears escaped Kohaku's hollow eyes. "You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"It's not a question of blaming myself. I know I had no control. But that doesn't take back what I did…the memory of it." Choking on these last words he brought a hand up to wipe at the tears that were now flowing quite fluidly down his cheeks. He hated himself for crying like this, especially in front of a stranger. Yet the impact of talking about it for the first time was too much for his tormented emotions to handle. "I wish Sesshomaru had never brought me back."

"Don't say that!" Ginta couldn't stop himself from throwing an arm around the now weeping boy, who immediately melted into the embrace, burying his head in the soft fur covering the youkai's shoulder. "You only feel like that now because it's all so sudden….you're so young," He had thrown his other arm around the boy by now and was lightly petting the hair at the top of his neck, "you've got so much life ahead of you. You can't give up now."

Kohaku only sniffled in reply and pressed himself deeper into the embrace, reveling in the comfort of the arms that were enclosing him, keeping him safe. It reminded him of when his mother had held him…the last time anyone had held him.

"You've got people who care about you, who will protect you," Ginta lowered his head to rest on top of the trembling boy in his arms. "I don't think a day went by that Sango didn't think about you…" He meant to go on, yet the fresh sob which escaped Kohaku caused a lump to form in his throat, so instead he just swallowed it, and placed a kiss on the top of his forehead.

Kohaku's tears ceased at the realization of what Ginta had just done, yet the trembles lingered as he brought his head up to look at the older boy.

Ginta opened his mouth to apologize but found he had no breath to form words with. Pressing his lips together he looked away from the boy and inwardly grimaced, preparing for the outburst that was sure to come. Yet instead of a stab of regret, it was a very different feeling that came over him when he felt the boy's hand, softly touch the far side of his chin, and pull him into a tender and innocent kiss. Too overwhelmed with the feeling of such soft lips on his own, Ginta could do nothing but remain still, the only movements being the tightening of his embrace.

Kohaku kept his lips pressed softly on the older youkai's for several seconds, before drawing back a few centimeters, pausing, and sinking his head back into the fur-lined shoulder, bringing his arms around the wolf's waste and pulling him close. "ginta.." he managed to whisper before falling into the first untroubled sleep he'd had in years.

Ginta remained frozen for several seconds after Kohaku had pulled away, finally breaking out of the trance when he heard his name whispered. Opening his eyes, he allowed the grin that was begging to be unleashed. Letting a single chuckle to escape, he looked down at the, now sleeping, boy in his arms, placed another kiss on his forehead, pulled him in close, and gazed into the glistening water that surrounded them.


End file.
